WIRED's biggest stories, delivered to your inbox

Exclusive! Elite Beat Agents Track List

Would you believe… Chicago? The Village People?

Cher?

It’s all true. As Game|Life can exclusively reveal this morning, Elite Beat Agents — the feverishly anticipated musical video game for Nintendo DS — will pack nineteen (19) throw-your-hands-in-the-air dance tunes ranging from the present day to way, way back (aka the 70’s).

What’s the story behind the picks? We went straight to the source.

"The concept for song selection was this – the roaring songs you would want to hear if you went to a college frat party," says Elite Beat Agents’ designer Keiichi Yano. "I used to play in bands like that, and when the whole crowd is jumping up and down to your tunes…this is the essence of our selections."

"Also what is really important is the balance of the game as a whole. We try not to pick songs just because we want it in there. We were staring at the entire list the whole time while making our selections. Oldies but goodies, great new songs, and a wide array of genres are all criteria for song selection and we take all of these into account all the time. Also there are obviously songs that are just rhythmically fun to play!"

Without further ado: The Elite Beat Agents track listing!

Walkie Talkie Man – Steriogram

ABC – Jackson Five

Sk8er Boi – Avril Lavigne

I Was Born to Love You – Queen

Rock This Town – Stray Cats

Highway Star – Deep Purple

Y.M.C.A. – Village People

September – Earth, Wind and Fire

Canned Heat – Jamiroquai

Material Girl – Madonna

La La – Ashlee Simpson

You’re the Inspiration – Chicago

Survivor – Destiny’s Child

Without a Fight – Hoobastank

Believe – Cher

Let’s Dance – David Bowie

Jumpin Jack Flash – Rolling Stones

Makes No Difference – Sum 41

The Anthem – Good Charlotte

You might be saying right now: "Nineteen songs? Holy crap!"1 Which is what I said. Alright, Mr. Yano: what’s up? Are there nineteen stages, even though Ouendan only had 15? And is the list in order — that is, is "The Anthem" the climactic, save-the-world stage at the end?

"All I can say is that "The Anthem" is not the final song. The final stage will be a moment you will not soon forget… (I hope!)"

"We wanted everyone to have lots of songs to play, so we put in as much as the DS Card could hold! There are 19 songs you can play. As to how many levels are in the game, you will see in November…"

Cryptic. Could some of these songs be only used in the multiplayer mode? Could some levels contain (gasp) medleys? The mind boggles. I personally am really looking forward to playing "Believe." And "YMCA." And "Rock This Town." Man oh man. November 6 had better get here really fast. Wii? What’s that? I’ve got the fever, and the only cure is Elite Beat Agents.

1If you remember my E3 posts, you might also be saying: where the hell is "Livin’ La Vida Loca"? A fair question. Near as I can figure, the song was dropped from the game. Blame it on the confusion of E3. I’ll try and fix the internet.

Also, I’m stickying this entry at the top of the page, so look below for more of Monday’s entries.